


Father Figure

by QueenOfTheMerryMen



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Inspired by OQ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 00:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20787299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfTheMerryMen/pseuds/QueenOfTheMerryMen
Summary: Regina Mills starts to worry when her son develops an obsession with the new man in town.





	Father Figure

She never had any qualms about becoming a single mother. Doubts about being pregnant, sure. Fear of her family’s reactions, of course. But from the moment she realized she wanted a baby, she never doubted that she could do it on her own.  


It was tough but she wasn’t wrong.  


It took two years for the adoption agency to find a baby for her but the first time she held Henry in her arms she knew it was the two of them against the world. She found a better job with a more flexible schedule. Endured countless sleepless nights sparked by sleep training and toothaches. She changed every diaper, soothed every tantrum and managed to raise a kind, little boy, all without help.  


She never doubted that she made the right choice in raising her son alone… until Robin Locksely showed up.  


She remembers the day they first saw him. He was new in town, sitting at the counter in Granny’s when they walked in for the Friday morning pancakes. There was mud on his boots and a windbreaker across his shoulders. Henry walked right up to him without hesitation, emboldened by his own curiosity. “Who are you?” 

  
“Robin Locksely,” he replied, not missing a beat. “And who might you be?”   


“I’m Henry Mills, son of the mayor,” her five-year-old proudly answered.  


An amused smile appeared on his face as he held out his hand. “Nice to meet you Henry.”  


And with a single handshake an obsession was started.  


Robin quickly became Henry’s favorite subject. Every day when Regina came to pick him up from daycare he asked if she’d the man with the “man with the muddy boots.” He asked about him day and night, wondering who he was and what he did. Whenever they saw him in public, Henry would always stop to talk to him, asking him about work and his day. Turns out he was a forest ranger, transferred in from California and settling nicely on the east coast. Unmarried, not that Henry asked. (She noticed a very bare ring finger on his left hand.)  


He was always patient with Henry, willing to answer any questions and endure the intrusions on his morning breakfast. Regina told him more than once that her son would understand a gentle brush off but he didn’t mind. According to him, Henry always brightened his day.  


It was cute at first. She thought it was just her son getting a little curious about a new stranger in town. But she quickly became unnerved when all his action figures turned into forest rangers. And the graphic tees he wore were tossed aside for long sleeve flannels. Pretty soon, he wanted to do everything “just like Robin does.” That’s when she started to worry. 

She’d often been asked about when she’d attempt to bring a man into Henry’s life. It was not as if she was planning to stay single forever but she’d always brush off the question to a later date. It was a non-issue in her eyes. Dating had been the last thing on her mind these past few years. Even if she did find a man she doubted she’d ever bring him to Henry until months into the relationship. She never once thought that Henry might find a man on his own.  


She was considering putting some distance between Robin and her son… when she woke up on Sunday and found her son missing from his bed.  


\----------------------

Robin hadn’t known what to make of Storybrooke when he first arrived. It was certainly different from California. The community was far more tight-knit, the streets were cleaner and the people were welcoming, if wary at first. Perfect town for a fresh start.  


He settled into a routine quickly. Mostly it was eat breakfast, go to work and then go home to order dinner. Not the most interesting activities but it was enough for now. Besides, there were two things kept his life from being completely dull.  


Well… two people.  


He hadn’t expected to meet the mayor of Storybrooke, or her son for that matter. But as it stands, Regina and Henry were the best part about his new home. He’ll always be grateful for the day when Henry came up to him at Granny’s. The boy was a cute kid and he was always happy to see him. He didn’t know if the same could be said for his mother. Regina wasn’t unfriendly with him but he could tell she preferred to maintain some distance. Whatever, the case, they both made him feel considerably less lonely.  


Which was why he only smiled when Henry showed up at the diner that morning.  


It was eight a.m. when he walked in. His little face was red from the outdoors, his sneakers peeked out from beneath his pajama pants and his overcoat was misbuttoned. Robin chuckled at the sight of him. “Hey Henry.”  


“Hi Robin,” he chirped, climbing onto the stool next to him. He huffed, tiredly laying his head against the counter. “Can I have pancakes?”  


“Sure,” Robin drawled, eyeing the door. “You sure you don’t want to want for your mom before you order?”  


“She’s not with me.”  


Robin went still. “What?” 

“Yeah...” Henry suspiciously drawled. “She wasn’t hungry for breakfast. So she said I could come on my own.It’s not that far a walk.”  


Robin hummed thoughtfully, locking eyes with the waitress behind the counter who looked equally skeptical. Henry was a cute kid, but a terrible liar.  


“Well then… let’s get you some pancakes and a little hot chocolate if we can swing it.” He nodded at the waitress who disappeared into the kitchen. From the order window, he could see her immediately get on the phone. Sighing in relief, he turned back to Henry. “So what brings you in today?”  


“I wanted to see you,” Henry replied with a shrug. The waitress set a mug of hot chocolate in front of him and he took a long sip, humming in delight. When he set the mug down their was whipped cream on his nose. “I wanted to ask you a question.”  


“Must be a big question for you to walk here on your own,” he mused. “Shoot.”  


“Will you be my dad?”  


“What?”  


Robin’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “What?”  


“Well I don’t have one and… I like you. Don’t you like me?”  


“I… absolutely like you,” he stumbled. “But I, um, I’m not sure that’s enough to make me your dad buddy?”  


Henry’s face fell. “Why not?”  


“Welly Henry it’s complicated.” He paused and sighed. “Families are complicated. It takes a long time to build one, and even longer to add a new piece.” He leaned forward in his seat. “I like you very much Henry Mills but I don’t think you know me well enough to add me to your family.”  


“Oh… okay.” Though his face still looked crestfallen, his eyes had turned thoughtful.  


Robin’s heart ached for him. “Are you okay?”  


The bell above the door jingled furiously as the door banged open. “Henry Daniel Mills!”  


Still dressed in her grey silk pajamas, Mayor Mills stalked toward the counter her eyes shining with a mixture of anger and fear. She pulled Henry off his stool, wrapping him in a hug. “What on earth were you thinking sneaking out of the house like that?” 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, hanging his head. “I just… I just wanted pancakes.”  


Regina sucked in a seething breath and Robin could tell she was trying her best not to blow her top at him. “Well you are in big trouble young man, starting right now. You can forget those pancakes. We’re going home.”  


She shuffled him out through the door, not giving Robin a passing glance.  


\-------------------------------------

It had been a day. She’d woken up to sheer panic when she saw that Henry wasn’t in bed. Then she had to face the humiliation of getting a phone call from the diner waitress saying her son was sitting at the counter. For the rest of the day she’d done nothing but put Henry in timeout and ruminate on why he’d felt the need to leave without her in the first place.

Sure she’d told him that they’d have to go without Granny’s pancakes that week but that didn’t make it okay for him to sneak out. God, a million awful things could’ve happened to him that morning.  


Sitting at her kitchen table that night, she imagined all those things while sipping a glass of chardonnay. There was a knock on her door and she was surprised to find Robin on her doorstep.  


“Mr. Locksely,” she sighed. “What can I do for you?”  


He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I just wanted to stop by and check on things. You know, after this morning.”  


“Right,” she mumbled. The waitress had mentioned something about Robin being there over the phone. “Forgot you were there.”  


“Are you okay?”  


She scoffed. “I’m great. Apparently I’ve raised an escape artist and the whole town’s probably gossiping about what a bad mother I am behind my back.”  


“No one’s saying that,” he quickly assured her. “Everyone knows kids act out, do strange things.”  


She shook her head. “Not my kid.”  


It was an arrogant thing to say, she knew that, but Henry’s behavior that morning had been out of character. At least it was in her eyes. He’d never run away from her before. He barely wandered in the supermarket. 

Robin nodded understandingly. “Did he talk to you about why he came to the diner?”  


“Honestly, I haven’t really been in a chatting mood with him,” she admitted.  


“He said he came to talk to me.”  


“You?”  


“He, uh… kinda asked me to be his dad.”  


Regina stared at him, bewildered. “What?”  


“He asked me if I could be his dad,” Robin repeated.  


Regina’s cheeks began to burn as she processed what he just told her. A dad? Her son had been walking around asking for a dad? What? Her mind began to reel as she thought back to every conversation she’d had with Henry, ever conversation they’d had with Robin wondering how this happened.  


“I… I’m sorry.”  


Robin immediately shook his head. “No, don’t be,” he said. “Trust me, I’m flattered.”  


“Well, good because I’m confounded,” she breathed, still trying to figure out what the hell happened. “I just… what did you say?”  


Robin summed up his earlier conversation with Henry. Listening to his explanation about families and how much work it took to build them, gave her a little bit of relief. It wasn’t a bad response. In fact it was more than a little good.  


“Thank you for saying that,” she said. “It’s a better response than most men would’ve given.”  


He nodded, before tilting his head at her. “Are you okay?”  


She nervously chuckled. “Well that is a very complicated question.” She let out a long breath, running her fingers through her hair. “Apparently I need to have a long talk with my son about our family.”  


“If you don’t mind me asking… where is Henry’s father?”  


“He doesn’t have one.” Rolling her eyes, she immediately backtracked. “Well, I assume he does but I wouldn’t know him. I adopted Henry. Just me.”  


“Oh…”  


Crossing her arms, Regina stared him down. She’d had more than a few people judging her for starting a family on her own. They all claimed they were just concerned about Henry but most of the time they just wanted to point out the shortcomings of single parent homes. She’d spent nearly all of motherhood insisting that her son had everything he needed and she didn’t expect it to let up anytime soon.  


“That’s wonderful,” said Robin, with a smile. “Adoption is a very special choice.”  


“Thank you,” she said, feeling slightly skeptical. No follow up questions or barely hidden judgement. That was new.  


“So… what will you do now?” he asked. “Have a talk?”  


“I suppose so,” she sighed, leaning against her doorway. “God… all the books I read said that one day the questions would come. I just didn’t think it would be today.”  


“Well, I don’t blame you for being blindsided. Henry seems very precocious,” he quipped, bringing a smile to her lips.  


“Yeah, it comes with a dark side.” She softly groaned. “Honestly, I just didn’t think he’d noticed yet. I don’t even know what to say to him.”  


Robin shrugged. “Well… tell him that your family is different and while that might seem like a big deal sometimes… no two families are really alike. They’re all different. Different parents, different kids, different pets.” He paused. “He might not have a father but he’s got you, Regina. That’s gotta be worth ten fathers at least.”  


Again her cheeks turned red. “Well, now I’m flattered.”  


He smiled under her porchlight and for the first time she realized just how handsome he was.  


He nodded at her, politely. “Well, I should let you get back inside. Have a goodnight.”  


“Thanks for stopping by,” she said, pausing before adding, “And thanks for always talking to Henry. I think it means a lot to him that you pay attention.”  


“Sure,” he replied. “And if he ever wants to hang out, you can give me a call at the Ranger’s station. I really don’t mind. He’s a great kid.”  


And she could tell by the look in his eyes, that he meant it. Closing the door to her house, she her eyes drift up the staircase. Henry was sleeping but she’d need to have a long talk with him tomorrow. He couldn’t run around asking strange men to be his father… 

… even if it did turn out he had impeccable taste.  



End file.
